A Weekend in the Mountains, Part 2: Granite Peak

A ribbon of highway weaves its way through the Trinity Alps. Rachel navigates the curves while I stare at the peaks overhead. Due to a very low snow year marred with sporadic warm weather systems, snow is difficult to find. Soon Granite Peak comes into view. We debate scrapping our longer, more runnable trip up the Stuart Fork for another shot at the summit. In early January, the trail was too icy and difficult to find to make it above treeline, but staring up at the mountain now I could see that all that snow was gone. Could we make it? I wonder out loud. Before I know it, we're climbing the steep fire road to the Granite Peak trailhead.

Granite Peak is on the left.

We begin the arduous climb up the mountain. In the five miles to the top, the trail gains an impressive 4,500 ft. without a single reprieve. I find myself leading the way up the trail with a giant grin on my face.

The "Too much coffee" selfie.

Modest views of Trinity Lake and the surrounding mountains peek through the trees. The sun shines brightly on our backs and we're soon stripped down to a summertime outfit. What a gorgeous day to be in the mountains!

Snack time, complete with photobomb.

How to pose like a real blogger. Apparently, I've been doing it wrong.

Before I know it, we pop out from the remaining bit of forest onto a rocky outcropping. Mountains for miles. The view is incredible, yet we scoff at the lake below. "Meh, that's pretty ugly." For the rest of the day, that's the theme of our conversation. "What are we even doing here? This is disgusting." and "All that climbing for this ugly view?" Sarcasm pours down the mountainside in a great flowing stream.

Trinity Lake

 Without a whisper of wind, I find myself lingering more and more as we approach the summit. I spot bits of snow, a little more at a time as we move skyward. Just three hundred feet from the summit, we stop. The dirt trail, carved into a forty-five degree slope, turns to snow.

Grr.

I knew I should have brought the traction. We give the snow a try, taking tentative steps as we dig our heels into the mountainside. Since our original plan was to be well below snow levels, I didn't bring anything from home and now the grade required an ice ax and kahtoolas. Without it, one slip could result in a 2,000 foot tumble down the mountainside. Darn it, You got me again Granite Peak.

Rachel's improvised walking stick.

This time, we at least took in some ugly views of Mt. Shasta, Trinity Lake, and all those other ugly  nearby mountains. At 7,800 ft., just three hundred feet shy of the top, we retreat.

The return trip was filled with chatter about work, our friends, blogging, and running. Even though we didn't meet through our blogs, it is one interest we share. You should check out Rachel's. I think her blog highlights her true hilarious personality.

We return to town to get lunch and eat at a local park. Even though I'm filled with food, I feel my energy levels drooping from the sunshine overdose I'm clearly not used to getting. I look over at Rachel and can tell she's feeling the same way. Three o'clock and we're ready for bed. Instead of calling it a night without dinner and returning to the campground, we decide to indulge in a hotel. Beds, showers, and most importantly, a place for a nap. Once my body wants a nap, it is very difficult to convince it otherwise. I love that Rachel is serious about her downtime too. We take a few hours to relax, indulge in some Thai for the second night in a row (at the same table, freaing out the busboy, haha), and watch some trashy reality TV before heading to bed.

All photos without my blog watermark are: Rachel C. photo credit.